


You throw, I catch

by realdefonge



Series: twitter drabble weekends [3]
Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, M/M, baseball AU, basically an au about catching balls and catching feelings, i know nothing about baseball but i tried, jaehwan the catcher, minhyun the pitcher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 19:39:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18708661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realdefonge/pseuds/realdefonge
Summary: Minhyun and Jaehwan realize that there's probably not much of a difference between catching balls and catching feelings.





	You throw, I catch

"Things are heating up here at the Jamshil Baseball Stadium where the match between Doosan Bears and LG Twins is reaching its climax. The crowd is going wild for major league players from Doosan Bears, Hwang Minhyun and Kim Jaehwan, who managed to even out the score with their rival team."

"I must say, the hype for these two are justified. Hwang Minhyun, dubbed as ' _Doosan's Prince_ ' proved that he's not just the team's face. Those pitches were spectacular, especially that curveball earlier!"

"That's right. But aside from Minhyun, we have Kim Jaehwan who solidified his status as one of the best hitters and defensive catchers of the KBO League. His 0.300 batting average is a force to be reckoned with! Now that they've reached the ninth inning, he's readying himself at the home plate for the ultimate catch!"

Jaehwan took steady breaths as he crouched behind the home plate. After creating a wide margin from their rival team, they are now preparing for the final bout, with him as the catcher and Minhyun as the closing pitcher. The latter has already positioned himself in the mound and Jaehwan could tell he was nervous with the way he was circling the ball on his palms.

Jaehwan was nervous himself. They have pretty much secured their win, but they wanted to make the last pitch memorable. Minhyun is a damn good pitcher-- even Jaehwan acknowledges that despite his loathing for the older-- but he gets nervous way too easily, especially when the match reaches the most crucial point. As far as he knows, the loathing is mutual since Minhyun never fails to throw insults his way whenever he gets the chance. Still, they are pros-- major league players, to be exact, and they both agreed that personal matters are to be thrown aside whenever they're on the field.

So Jaehwan did what he always does: he shoots Minhyun a look until the latter finally looks back at him, like some sort of telepathy which neither of them even knew they could actually achieve until they did it during their major league debut, and he raises both of his arms to form a circle over his head. It was his way of assuring Minhyun he'd definitely catch his throw.

There's nothing special about the gesture. In fact, it's too plain and simple. But as simple as it is, it manages to calm Minhyun down all the time. Jaehwan's lips pursed up when the older gave him a relaxed nod. He went into squatting position and placed his hands between his legs, flashing two of his fingers, suggesting for a fastball. Minhyun bit his lip, indicating that it's not the kind of throw he wants. Jaehwan was taken aback but quickly regained his composure. This time, he flashed three fingers, to which Minhyun briefly nodded.

"Oh, that son of a bitch," Jaehwan cursed under his breath. This is one of those instances where Minhyun wants to give him a hard time, but he knows it's all for the sake of securing a glorious win. The younger put his game face on as he nodded back at Minhyun, assuring that he's up for the older's challenge.

And then it was time to make the pitch. Minhyun raised a leg as he brought his arms over his head, the ball gripped tightly on his knuckles. Jaehwan watched him the entire time, observing his movements and the angle of his body. Everyone in the stadium held their breaths as Minhyun made one last huff before making the throw.

Jaehwan braced himself for the erratic pitch. He knew a knuckleball was coming after receiving the signal from Minhyun earlier, but he just couldn't get used to it. Compared to a fastball's straight trajectory, knuckleballs have unpredictable movements and minimal rotations. Jaehwan gulped as he eyed the ball which zig-zagged from left to right, seemingly fluttering in the air. Minhyun threw this pitch because he knew the batter would have a hard time hitting it, but Jaehwan wanted to scream out loud that it won't be easy for the catcher either.

But Jaehwan kept his focus. He kept his eyes open, refusing to blink for even a millisecond. As irregular as it was, he managed to predict its movement at the very last second, enabling him to catch it with his mitt. He stared at the ball on his hand and looked up at the umpire, who also couldn't believe what just happened. It was hard to see where the ball was heading, but in those few, unpredictable seconds, Jaehwan managed to make a successful catch.

When it finally sunk in, the entire stadium roared. Jaehwan stood up and saw Minhyun, along with his teammates running towards him to celebrate their victory. Woojin, one of their infielders, wrapped his arm around Jaehwan's shoulder and ruffled his hair. "Hyung! It never fails to amaze me how you could catch Minhyun-hyung's knuckleballs! We almost shat our pants out there when we realized what kind of pitch he was going for!"

Jisung, another infielder, looked pale as he clutched his chest. "Really, he could've just went for his usual fastballs and give us a clean win, but he decided to show off at the last pitch."

Minhyun was silent as he stood behind Jisung. Jaehwan peered over his teammate to glance at Minhyun, who only scoffed at him before looking away. Jaehwan's nostrils flared up as he thought to himself, "He has the audacity to scoff at me when he's the one who made that last minute call?"

Before he could sneer, Minhyun had already walked away with some of their teammates. The rest of them followed suit, making sure to wave at the audience who cheered them on.

Jaehwan eyed Minhyun's back suspiciously. He wants to think that Minhyun threw that knuckleball to show off, but there was something in the older's eyes earlier that told him otherwise.

 

* * *

 

"Cheers!"

 

Everyone shouted happily as they clinked their beer glasses together. They reserved a restaurant near the stadium to celebrate their victory. Jihoon, the president of the Doosan Group-- the conglomerate that owns the Doosan Bears, led the toast before sitting back down next to his boyfriend, Woojin.

Minhyun and Jaehwan were sitting face to face, occasionally throwing sneers and looks of disgust at each other. Much to everyone's surprise, they haven't engaged in verbal insults yet. In fact, their silence made some of their closest teammates feel awkward.

"You know, this is killing me," Sungwoon commented as he looked from Minhyun to Jaehwan. "I'd rather listen to you diss each other than sit here and be trapped in this awkward atmosphere. Just...talk already! Minhyun, tell Jaehwan that his farts smell like decaying rats and he laughs like a psycho. Jaehwan, tell Minhyun that he looks like one of those inflatable, tube dancers you can find at the gasoline stations whenever he dances. Ah, dammit! Just insult each other already!"

Jisung nudged Sungwoon and poured more beer on his glass. "Yah, just let them be. They're our superstars for this match."

"Yeah, superstars, whatever." Sungwoon gulped his beer down before pointing at Jaehwan. "Seriously, how do you manage to catch Minhyun's knuckleballs every damn time?"

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. "Hyung, how many times do I have to tell you? It takes guts and a sheer amount of focus to catch those crazy throws." His words were mostly directed at Minhyun, whose head was tilted sideways to avoid Jaehwan's gaze.

Sungwoon shrugged as he turned his back against Jaehwan and looked at Jisung instead. Jaehwan knocked on the table to get Minhyun's attention, only to be ignored by the older.

"Yah, Hwang Minhyun."

At the sudden informality, Minhyun finally looked back at the younger. He furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, "What?"

"What was up with the sudden knuckleball earlier? You know I hate that," Jaehwan responded. "Quoting one of my favorite catchers, Jason Varitek, catching the knuckleball is like--"

"--trying to catch a fly with a chopstick." Minhyun finished the sentence for Jaehwan. "I am aware of that, Jaehwan."

"So...why?"

"Because I knew you'd catch it anyway," was Minhyun's nonchalant response. He then picked up his glass filled with cola and drank its contents. He doesn't drink alcohol, which is one of the things about him that irks Jaehwan 'cause it just solidified his vision of him as the 'boring, too uptight and upright, prince from an unknown kingdom'. "You gave me the signal earlier. You assured me that you'd catch whatever I'd throw."

Jaehwan almost banged his fist against the table, but he remembered that his right hand was currently bandaged. It's physically demanding to be a catcher. His hand oftentimes gets bruised by pitches, especially high-speed ones which often feel like they'd punch a hole through his palm despite the thickness of his mitt.

"You could've made my life easier by serving a fastball," Jaehwan grunted. "At least it's easy to read the movements of the ball."

"But personal catchers specialize in receiving the pitcher's knuckleballs, right?"

Jaehwan's eyes widened in disbelief. "I was never anointed as your personal catcher!"

Minhyun smirked and Jaehwan almost wanted to punch him. "Personal catchers are never anointed, Jaehwan. It's an informal thing in baseball, in case you didn't know."

Jaehwan wanted to rip his hair out in frustration. Of course, he knows. He just hated the idea of being referred to as Minhyun's personal catcher. In order to be an established pitcher-catcher tandem, both players must develop utmost trust on each other. They must understand each other and act as if they're of one mind and body.

But Minhyun and Jaehwan are complete opposites. As far as Jaehwan knows, the only thing they have in common is that they made their major league debut at the same time.

 

They first met each other in the minor league, and Jaehwan knew from the get-go that Minhyun is someone he'd never get along with. His first memory of Minhyun was during their first practice session together years ago. As rookies, they were completely annihilated during the match. They sat at the bench for a while, faces hung low in disappointment. Minhyun suddenly turned to him and said ' _Your hits were okay but your catches sucked!_ ' to which Jaehwan replied with ' _Oh Yeah? Well, your pitches were very weak and on top of that, you refused to dive for the base! Are you scared of dirtying that pretty face?_ '.

Needless to say, their low spirits transformed into burning desires to prove to each other that they were capable of exhibiting great things in the field. They became rivals, and that rivalry eventually became their driving force to become better baseball players.

Fast forward to seven years and they are now major league players, both are equally known and revered in their respective positions. But oddly enough, Jaehwan ended up as Minhyun's unofficial personal catcher, after the younger successfully caught Minhyun's first knuckleball five years ago. Ever since then, Minhyun refused to work with any other catchers aside from Jaehwan.

 

"I don't mind being your catcher," Jaehwan sighed as he leaned against his seat. "As long as you don't pull any of those last minute, crazy stunts from now on. You know I hate it when my brain has to analyze the ball's trajectory in a matter of seconds."

"Hey, I'm giving you brain exercise while improving your skills at the same time. You should be thankful, actually."

"Yah!"

Minhyun raised an eyebrow and Jaehwan whimpered. He wanted to voice out his frustrations in an informal tone, but he was raised by his parents to be a proper and respectful Korean man so he held himself back, although the imbecile in front of him is only a year older.

"How's your hand?"

Jaehwan looked up at Minhyun, confused by his question. "My hand?" He stared at his bandaged hand in wonder. "The pain and throbbing already subsided."

"Good." Minhyun took another sip of his cola and looked away. "You're the one getting angry but you were the one who kept asking for fastballs and curveballs earlier."

"What?"

"LG Twins almost had us, so we fought back with everything we've got." Minhyun snickered as he recalled the memory. "I wanted to win, too. But your level of desperation was crazy. Can you even remember how many high-speed balls I've thrown your way earlier? Are you some kind of masochist? Why did you keep asking for fastballs?"

Jaehwan blinked. He didn't even bother to count, nor did he bother to take note of the pain on his hand earlier. All he knew was that he wanted to win. Minhyun's fastballs fly in the speed of light, giving no time for the hitters to even see them. But Jaehwan is used to that speed and trajectory so he catches them with ease despite the painful impact they cause. It was a sure way to win so he kept asking for it during the game's climax. Thanks to those fastballs, they were able to gain the upper hand, which ultimately led to the closing pitch by Minhyun.

But the knuckleball was different. It was slow yet erratic, and despite the unpredictable movement, it landed softly on Jaehwan's hand. The medic told him that if he received another fastball, he would've torn his hand ligament. Jaehwan just dismissed this fact since he was happy that they won, but now that Minhyun brought it up, he finally realized why his sudden knuckleball serve earlier was unusual.

"You...didn't want me to injure my hand further?"

Minhyun coughed violently at that question. Jaehwan noticed how the older's ears suddenly turned red, which is a sight he's never seen before. "What-- I-- well it's not like I was concerned! It's just...you were being stupid and reckless. As the normal one, I felt like it was my responsibility to make the right call."

"Are you saying I'm abnormal?"

"You said it, not me."

"Why you--" Jaehwan suddenly grabbed Sungwoon's beer glass, earning shouts of ' _Hey, that's mine, idiot!_ ' which he chose to ignore as he gulped the alcohol down without pausing. He wiped the corner of his mouth afterwards and pointed at Minhyun, beer glass still on hand. "You really are despicable, Hwang Minhyun."

 

* * *

 

A few drunk dancing and singing later, they finally decided to call it a night and head home. Some were being carried by their half-sober teammates, some were almost crawling on the floor on their way out, and some have already turned the long, wooden chairs into their makeshift beds. Jisung looked like he wanted to cry in frustration as he talked to the restaurant owner. Good thing Jihoon was with him to appease the owner.

Jaehwan, on the other hand, was the type of drunk who'd stare off into space and break into occasional laughs every now and then. Sometimes, he'd perform some kind of monologue and ask himself questions, only for him to answer them himself.

Minhyun has seen Jaehwan drunk, but he's never seen him this drunk. Normally, the younger would just sing and dance and collapse somewhere, only to wake up when it's time to go home. This time, he remained awake the entire time. He drank nonstop until Minhyun grabbed his glass and prevented him from asking for more alcohol.

 

"Why do I even like this guy?" Minhyun muttered to himself as he watched over Jaehwan performing another monologue.

 

That's right. Hwang Minhyun likes Kim Jaehwan.

When Minhyun first realized his feelings for Jaehwan, he banged his head against his wall several times in an attempt to knock some sense his seemingly malfunctioning heart. Maybe there was some kind of mistake. Maybe he was just possessed.

But no matter how much he tried to deny it, his heart refused to back down. The day he acknowledged his feelings, he looked back on how they started to form.

It was five years ago. He was facing the darkest moment in his career since he was facing a slump. At that time, he almost volunteered to be benched, but Jaehwan approached him and scolded him, saying that someone who gives up easily doesn't deserve to be the younger's rival. Jaehwan then made a deal with him. He said he'll be his catcher, and if he manages to catch Minhyun's pitch, no matter how unstable it's going to be, Minhyun will snap out of his forlorn state and go back to the fighter that he once was.

And Jaehwan won the deal. Minhyun threw his first knuckleball, and Jaehwan was able to catch it. When Minhyun looked at Jaehwan after that pitch, the latter flashed him a proud smile, and Minhyun felt his heart melt. He slumped down the ground and sobbed since it felt like the heavy weight was finally lifted off his shoulders.

After that day, Minhyun started seeing Jaehwan in a different light. He started worrying over the younger for even the smallest of things, which he never made obvious, of course. He just didn't know how to deal with his feelings, so he continued his usual banters with Jaehwan, even though a part of him wants to just step up and confess.

 

"So what do you think about Hwang Minhyun?"

Minhyun snapped out of his thought when Jaehwan's monologue was suddenly about him. He propped his elbows on the table and leaned closer. For some reason, he was feeling nervous. Jaehwan is known to be very straightforward when he's drunk.

"Hwang Minhyun?" Jaehwan asked himself out loud, in an overdramatic tone. Despite feeling nervous, Minhyun couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous Jaehwan looked. "Oh, that insanely handsome guy? The one who looks like a prince?"

" _Guess it's off to a good start,_ " Minhyun thought.

 

"He's. So. Fuckin'. Boring. And. Annoying."

 

Minhyun almost fell from his seat when Jaehwan continued. Perhaps his heart shattered a bit.

 

"--is what I thought...." Jaehwan said after his long, dramatic pause. "But he's actually nice. Disgustingly nice. And he can be sweet, although he's not aware that he's being sweet."

Minhyun straightened up on his seat. Jaehwan was right in front of him, but the latter never looked his way. Instead, he did his drunk monologue while staring at the tissue bin. "He doesn't know, but I'm actually thankful that we became rivals. I was able to improve myself since we constantly challenged each other. Also, our bickerings somehow became a part of my daily routine? Like, it's weird when we're not throwing insults at each other."

Minhyun chuckled. It seems throwing insults has become a habit, or more like an endearment between them.

"It's weird but...I guess our constant banters somehow became the foundation of our teamwork on the field. We know so much about each other now after years of finding things that we can use to insult each other. Along with the imperfections, we were able to discover our admirable traits."

Minhyun was taken aback when Jaehwan suddenly looked up at him. If it wasn't for the redness of his cheeks, Minhyun would've thought he was sober based on the intensity of his gaze. "I want him to know he's the best pitcher a catcher could ever have. And I'd like to thank him for being so considerate of my injury, which I myself failed to notice earlier."

At that moment, Minhyun felt himself getting possessed by the _Gay God Of Courage_ as he brought his hands forward until they reached Jaehwan's injured hand which was resting on the table. He enveloped the younger's hand gently on his palms and smiled. "If anything really bad happened to your hand, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

Jaehwan inhaled sharply, his cheeks turning even redder than before. He looked so cute that Minhyun bent his head down to hide the stupid grin forming on his face. "H-Hyung...what's with the sudden cheesiness?"

Minhyun cleared his throat before looking back up. "Yah, you started it. You were the one doing this cheesy monologue in front of me."

"I'm...I'm drunk!" was Jaehwan's defense, which only earned him a laugh from the older. "Aish, maybe I should've drank more,"

Minhyun gave him a teasing look. "Oh, I see you've sobered up a bit."

"What? No, I'm completely drunk," Jaehwan's eyes darted from Minhyun's face, down to the floor, then up at the ceiling. He doesn't even know where to look anymore. Still, he never pulled his hand away from Minhyun's grasp. "Where's the alcohol when you need it..."

"Jaehwan-ah," Minhyun said with a chuckle. He cleared his throat again and locked Jaehwan in his earnest gaze, disabling the younger from looking away. "Thank you for always catching my pitches."

Jaehwan looked confused, like it wasn't the statement he was expecting, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah...no problem. I mean, it's my job as the catcher in the first place."

"And you always do a good job at it, so I'm thankful that you catch my pitches so well," said Minhyun. "But I hope that this time, you can catch my feelings, too."

This time, it was Jaehwan who was coughing violently, earning a look from Woojin and Jihoon, who were discreetly making out in the corner.

"W-W-What...that is...what is going on, hyung?" Jaehwan stammered, the redness on his face spreading to his ears and neck.

Minhyun laughed, but it was directed at himself for being so brazen. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself and just went for it, even though you're still a bit drunk. Maybe it's the power of cola?"

Jaehwan shot him an unbelieving look. "Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?"

"It's not." Minhyun tried his best to look as convincing as possible. "But I wouldn't want to pour my heart out to a drunk man. Will you listen to my confession again once you're completely sober tomorrow?"

Jaehwan was speechless, his eyes darting around the room again. "Well...I...this is too sudden. Will I even remember it tomorrow?"

"If you don't," Minhyun chuckled first before continuing. "I guess I'll have to summon the _Gay God Of Courage_ again."

"Now who the fuck is that?" Woojin asked from the corner.

Minhyun turned to Woojin and shouted, "The God I'll that I'll be worshipping from now on."

But when he turned back to Jaehwan, the latter's face was already buried on the table. He laughed when he heard Jaehwan's muffled snores a few seconds later. At least their hands were still clasped together.

"You are damn cute, Kim Jaehwan."

 

* * *

 

Of course, he was just pretending to be asleep.

Jaehwan stared at his ceiling, wondering if doing so could magically help him forget the things that happened last night.

He was able to go home thanks to Jihoon and Woojin who were nice enough to carry his ' _asleep_ ' body towards Jihoon's car. The moment the car began to drive away, he automatically sat up straight from the backseat, and Woojin could only say " _I fuckin' knew it,_ " with a judgemental look on his face.

Was Minhyun being serious? Would he really confess again? Is Jaehwan ready for it?

Truth be told, he's been harboring feelings for Minhyun for quite some time now, although he's kept them locked up in the depths of his heart. After that confession, the chains have been broken and his feelings now roam free, but they're too all-over-the-place that Jaehwan doesn't know what to do with them.

But when his phone buzzed and he saw a message notification from Minhyun, it felt like all his uncertainties were washed away.

 

> _I'm glad you were my rival. Thank you for making me a better person. Whether you remember what happened last night or not, I think it's better to start with the basics._
> 
> _Kim Jaehwan, would you like to grab some coffee with me?_

 

Jaehwan grinned as he stared at his phone and read the message over and over again. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to be possessed by the Gay God Of Courage before typing his reply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

> _LOL you're so basic, hyung. As expected of Hwang Minhyun._
> 
> _But yes. I would love to._

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This was supposed to be a prince Minhyun, voice of God Jaehwan, drabble but I changed it to a baseball au coz of Minhyun's pics earlier T_T 
> 
> icb i chose the hard road lmao sorry if it fell short from expectations. i literally just googled baseball stuff today and watched a few videos for this. anyway, i hope you still like it~


End file.
